§ Mr. Nicholas Wintertonasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether he will re-examine the possibility of providing North Sea gas supplies to Northern Ireland, and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Adam ButlerThe Government made clear in July 1979 their conviction that the provision of a natural gas supply from the North Sea would not permit the establishment of a viable gas industry in Northern Ireland. There is no immediate reason to change that view. Because of the distance involved, the transmission of natural gas from Scotland, by the only technology currently available to us, would require an unacceptably high level of capital expenditure.